Entertainment

The Ghosts of Violence

One doesn't associate domestic violence with ballet, yet a touring company will bring awareness about the subject during a February appearance in London.

The Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada (ABTC) makes its London debut on February 22 at the Paul Davenport Theatre, University of Western Ontario and it will be tackling a very delicate subject.

The ABTC performs Ghosts of Violence, a hauntingly beautiful contemporary ballet that deals with an issue that is rarely in the spotlight - domestic violence.

The full-length production grew out a short work artistic director and choreographer Igor Dobrovolskiy created in 2007 for a fundraiser for the New Brunswick Silent Witness Project, a Canadian chapter of a North American-wide campaign to raise awareness of ­domestic homicide and its victims. The original piece drew such strong response from the audience that Dobrovolskiy began receiving requests to choreograph a full-length work.

"I knew it was a huge challenge - to explore this issue within the framework of a ballet. But I felt there was much more to say about these women, their lives,

and this devastating social problem that crosses all ­boundaries," he said.

Ghosts Of Violence made its world premiere on ­February 15, 2011 in Ottawa, at the National Arts Centre. As with the original short work, the response from the audience - which included survivors, victim's families, and anti-violence organizations - was astounding.

In attendance was Megan Walker, Executive Director of London Abused Women's Centre and an early ­supporter of the project. "When I heard there was going to be a ballet dedicated to women whose lives were taken by the men they trusted to love them, I was full of hope because it's an opportunity to reach out to men and women across this country who may never know this problem even exists," she said.

Ghosts of Violence has touched so many people that various social agencies, women's groups, family ­violence prevention and justice organizations, as well as the RCMP, the Canadian Nurses Association and the ­Canadian Social Workers Association plan to have a ­visible presence at each performance.

The London Silent Witnesses will also be in attendance. The group was present at the Ghosts of Violence presentation at Rideau Hall, as part of former Governor General Michaëlle Jean's Women's Conference in ­September 2010. London Silent Witnesses were also included in a national Silent Witness collection ­exhibited at the world premiere of Ghosts of Violence at the National Arts Centre.

Ghosts of Violence will tour Canada for the next three years. The London performance is co-sponsored by the London Abused Women's Centre and the London Coordinating Committee to End Woman Abuse.